The Skiing Weatherman and Glen Plake Make the Boston Ski & Snowboard Expo

(December 2014) While at the Boston Ski & Snowboard Expo I made the acquaintance of skiing weatherman Tim Kelly. As a regular NECN viewer, I knew Tim was an avid skier by his enthusiasm for reporting snowfalls at resorts and occasional video of him skiing. He’s a true advocate of the sport. I thanked him for his habit of promoting fun in the snow instead of scaring people and complaining about snow. I sometimes wonder if these chionophobes (look that one up!) realize how much harm they do by making anything over a few inches “snow-mageddon”. Instead, in the words of ski show promoter Bernie Weichel, Tim endorses the spirit of the phrase “I’m a Hearty New Englander and I love Winter In the “small world” department, I knew like me, Tim is from Cape Cod, but I didn’t know he’s just a mile or two up Bass River from me. When not on the Cape or in the studio telling us to get out there and have some winter fun, Tim’s favorite place to be is at his home in Stowe, VT.

While at the annual BEWI Award luncheon I was able to speak with extreme skiing legend Glen Plake. Yes, the same Glen Plake of Mohawk fame, too. If you think his hair is outrageous, you should see him ski! When I introduced myself to Glen and his wife, Kimberly, I was stoked by his reaction. He said to her, “Hey, David is from the White Book! I love the White Book. I used to use it to check off every mountain I skied or wanted to ski. I still have it and I’m going to send it to you!”

If that wasn’t fun enough, I asked Glen if he still held the rights to the original Raichle Flexon ski boot design. It originated in the late ‘70s and is still a cult boot among those who appreciate the fit, warmth, and most of all the corrugated, flexible tongue that dampens forward movement without bulging the sides of the shell. That energy goes to your skis instead of to your boot. The reason I’m so interested is my step-father was International Vice President for Raichle back then and was part of the development team. I’ve been skiing on a Flexon for nearly 40 years (I have several pair). Whenever I walk into a ski shop with them on one of the ski techs always comments on what a great boot it is. It turns out Glen is now working with Raichle’s reincarnation, Dalbello. There are still several variations of the design in production.